Marketing

How an Ancient Beverage Found Fame on Social Media

Its mysterious origin dates back thousands of years. Lore of the fermented dairy drink's seemingly magical health benefits endured through the generations by word-of-mouth. Then, social media raised it to royalty.

Today, a company called Lifeway Foods makes close to $100 million annually selling kefir, a probiotic beverage often compared to yogurt.

"It took 2,000 years to bring this product into the mainstream through word-of-mouth," Lifeway's CEO Julie Smolyansky tells Mashable. "Social just multiplies that so much, so rapidly."

Smolyansky's parents founded the Chicago-based company in 1986. When her father died in 2002, she took over as CEO at just 27 years old. According to Smolyansky, many close family friends believed Lifeway would not endure with her at the helm.

Defying both those expectations amidst a recession that touched nearly every part of the U.S. economy, Lifeway's sales have increased from $12 million to $80 million since 2002. At a time when unemployment became a national issue, somehow a company selling an obscure yogurt drink grew from 70 to more than 300 employees.

Through good timing and by opportunistically embracing technology, Lifeway has been able to reach increasingly large audiences with its salubrious product and unique story.

Coming to America

The Smolyansky family slipped through a crease in the Iron Curtain and emigrated from the Ukraine in the 1970s. They settled in Chicago with notions of living The American Dream.

"They came to America because they were entrepreneurial, and that wasn't possible in the former Soviet Union," Smolyansky says.

The family opened a gourmet deli, stocking it with imported foods they would learn about from traveling to expos around the world. Julie Smolyansky calls her parents "the first foodies" because they carried products found in few other stores at that time, such as Nutella.

While at a food show in Germany in 1985, Smolyansky's father, Michael Smolyansky, rediscovered a popular old-world beverage that had not yet made its way to America. The beverage was, of course, kefir. Being an engineer by trade, he decided to set up a factory to produce it in the U.S.

Yeah, But, What Is Kefir?

Kefir originated in the Caucasus Mountains, which range from the Black to Caspian Seas in Eurasia. Passed down by oral history, the recipe became popular in Russia during the late 19th century.

One makes it by adding kefir grains (which are not actually grains) to virtually any type of milk — even soy. The mixture should sit in the dark at a moderate temperature for about 24 hours. During that time it becomes fermented and slightly carbonated. Then, remove the grains (which can be reused) and consume the beverage as is, or let it sit for several more days, allowing it to further ferment and become more viscous and tart.

The resulting beverage contains live bacteria, which many believe are beneficial, particularly to one's digestive system. The name "kefir" comes from a Turkish word meaning "good feeling."

There is a mystique surrounding kefir. No one is 100% sure how the "grains" originated. One legend dictates the Prophet Muhammad gave the grains to the orthodox shepherds of the mountains, who then guarded the secret of the "magic" beverage. The grains themselves are a mix of bacteria and yeast that looks like the top of cauliflower.

Kefir grains are generally not used during mass production of the drink, but the producer can achieve a similar probiotic effect through a mixture of yeast and appropriate bacteria. Lifeway Foods does use kefir grains to grow cultures of bacteria, but cannot use the grain traditionally due to the large quantity the company produces daily. Lifeway's kefir also does not contain any alcohol.

Old Meets New Media

Initially, Lifeway spread its message by being in the right place at the right time. The family had fled the U.S.S.R. to start a business in America around the culmination of the Cold War. Smolyansky said the news media loved to tell her family's story; at the time, the country was "fascinated" with all things Russia.

"At the same time, it was the perfect storm where health and natural foods were just starting to pick up," she says.

In lieu of a marketing budget, Lifeway used the media attention to spread its message about the health benefits of kefir.

When Smolyansky found out about social media, she thought it was perfect for Lifeway. Now the company could reach out to people and tell its story on its own terms. She quickly signed up for MySpace in 2008, Twitter early in 2009 and Facebook later that year.

"Everything that we do, we make sure that it's sharable," Smolyansky says. "We become a friend and a trusted source of information."

At first, she managed the accounts herself, but Smolyansky quickly realized it would be a full-time job. She began looking for a community manager in 2009, before there was a common term for the position. Today, Lifeway employs a community staff of five, but Smolyansky says she remains involved in the social media strategy.

"We want to do more and more of it," she says. "You have to be everywhere."

If her father was still around, Smolyansky believes he would have loved social media as much as she does.

"He would have been amazed. He was so fascinated with the Internet when it first launched," she says.

The elder Smolyansky even bought the URL for "Kefir.com," which now redirects you to Lifeway's official site. (Those shepherds are probably kicking themselves for letting that one slip through their fingers for the last 2,000 years.)

The company currently has more than 55,000 followers on Twitter and nearly 160,000 Likes on Facebook. Lifeway's social media clout is particularly impressive since kefir is a somewhat obscure product.

While we often think of the Internet as a space for what's fresh and new, kefir helps to show that it is actually a space where anything worthwhile can succeed, from the ancient to the avant-garde.

Innovative Tech Add-Ons for Small Businesses

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iPad users know the frustrations that come with typing long emails and meeting notes on their device, but some concepts such as the Touchfire -- which raised almost $100,000 on Kickstarter -- can make the process a lot easier. This lightweight and thin overlay goes over the iPad's screen, so it feels more like a keyboard. In fact, the defined keys make it actually easy to look away from the screen when typing. It also lives in the iPad cover, so it folds into the cover when you don't want to use it. Ah, tablet typing made easy.

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7. Steadicam Smoothee

Video rigs such as the Steadicam Smoothee for the iPhone ($149) is a worthwhile investment, allowing small businesses to shoot video clips on the go with ease. Think of it as a table-top tripod.

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